DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNIQUES FOR TEACHING COMPLEX VISUAL DISCRIMINATION.

GEIS, GEORGE L.; ROTHENBERG, MARTIN

THE SUBJECT OF THIS EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM WAS THE RECOGNITION OF, OR CONCEPTUAL RESPONSE TO, COMPLEX VISUAL STIMULI BY COLLEGE STUDENTS. PROGRAMED INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNIQUES WERE USED IN THE SUBJECT CONTEXT TO DEVELOP PRELIMINARY SELF-TEACHING MATERIALS FOR LEARNING COMPLEX CONCEPTS. THESE PROGRAMING TECHNIQUES WERE IMPLEMENTED TO PRODUCE VISUAL STIMULI IN THE FORM OF SPECTROGRAPHIC SPEECH PATTERNS. CONCEPTUAL DISCRIMINATORY BEHAVIOR OF STUDENTS WAS RECORDED IN RESPONSE TO THE VISUAL STIMULI. SELF-INSTRUCTIONAL MATCHING TECHNIQUES WERE USED FOR BOTH REAL AND ABSTRACT SPEECH PATTERNS. THE PROGRAM PROVED EFFECTIVE IN ENHANCING OVERALL UNDERSTANDING OF COMPLEX STIMULI. IT APPEARED TO BE FLEXIBLE IN FORMAT AND DESIGN, AND ITS DISCRIMINATION POINTS (THE VISUAL CONTRASTS TO BE TAUGHT) COULD BE EMPIRICALLY DETERMINED BY THE PARTICIPATING STUDENTS. (JH)